The present invention relates to steel foam and, more particularly, to steel foam and methods of producing steel foam.
Metal is considered a foam if pores are distributed within the metal to take up a certain minimum percentage of the total volume of the metal. The introduction of pores or voids into a metal component typically decreases the density and weight of the metal component compared to a solid metal component. Metal foam components also frequently display a higher plate bending stiffness than solid metal components. Currently, commercial metal foam components are generally limited to aluminum, despite the fact that steel foam components would exhibit many superior properties if they could be produced in volume at reasonable cost.